Hamlin wins Budweiser Duel 2: #11-Denny Hamlin won the second Budweiser Duel qualifying race for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway followed by #24-Gordon, #41-Busch, #27-Menard and #33-Scott. The race ended when #48-Johnson ran out of fuel coming to the checked flag and slowed, #1-McMurray got into the rear of the #48, crashing the #48 into the wall and collecting outside pole winner #78-Truex Jr., #15-Bowyer (who flipped over but landed on his wheels and kept driving), #99-Edwards, #66-Waltrip and #34-Ragan. Four drivers deep in 2013 owners points or low qualifying speed, raced into the Daytona 500: #21-Bayne (6th), #40-Cassill(9th), #32-Labonte(12th) and #52-Labonte(13th). No driver needed to use the past champions provisional.
Missing the Daytona 500: #83-Truex, #35-McClure, #87-Nemechek, #95-McDowell & #93-Shepherd.
See race results on the Budwesier Duel 1 Race Results page (pdf).(2-20-2014)

Kenseth wins Budweiser Duel 1: #20-Matt Kenseth won the first Budweiser Duel qualifying race for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway followed by #4-Harvick, #5-Kahne, #9-Ambrose and #88-Earnhardt Jr. Four drivers deep in 2013 owners points or low qualifying speed raced into the Daytona 500: #98-Wise (6th), #26-Whitt(12th), #10-Patrick(14th) and #23-Bowman (15th). #14-Stewart races into the Daytona 500, finishing 11th, which assures a spot for #41-Busch at least via a past champions provisional. Pole winner #3-Dillon faded midway thru the race and finished 19th, but will start on the pole for the Daytona 500. Four drivers who didn't race into the Daytona 500 will make the race via speed or 2013 owners points (provisional spot): #55-Vickers, #22-Logano, #17-Stenhouse Jr and #18-Busch. #30-Kligerman, #36-Sorenson and #87-Nemechek could still make the race depending on the finish of the 2nd Duel. #95-McDowell will not race in the Daytona 500.UPDATE: #4-Harvick's Chevy didn't pass post-race inspection after exceeding the split on the trackbar. So Harvick is moved to the 24th finishing spot and all the other drivers move up a spot, so #55-Vickers is now in the Daytona 500. Harvick will either have to use a provisional (11th in owners points0 or get in on speed 26th fastest, which seems unlikely.
See race results on the Budwesier Duel 1 Race Results page (pdf) - note: not yet revised with Hendrick penalty.(2-20-2014)

Budweiser Duel moves to night in 2014: Daytona International Speedway announced Thursday that the Budweiser Duel 150-mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500 will be moved next year to a night-time start and be televised by Fox. "To earn a coveted starting spot in the Daytona 500, the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will have to perform under the lights and in front of a primetime audience in the Budweiser Duel,'' DIS president Joie Chitwood III said. "Moving the Budweiser Duel under the lights will add another dimension to Budweiser Speedweeks.'' The qualifying races join the Sprint Unlimited and the Camping World Truck Series race as night-time events during Speedweeks.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(2-21-2013)

Coverage of the Qualifying races the Budweiser Duel to make the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway is scheduled for Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 7:00pm/et.
TV: FoxSports1 - 7:00pm/et
Green Flag approx 7:15pm/et [2nd Duel around 8:30pm/et]
Radio: Motor Racing Network [also online] and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio
Budweiser Duel Re-Airs:
Friday, February 21 at 6:00am/et on FoxSports1
Saturday, February 22 at 12:00am/et on FoxSports2

Setting The Daytona 500 Grid:
* The two fastest qualifiers set starting positions one and two. Those were decided on Sunday, with #3-Austin Dillon winning the Coors Light Pole and #78-Martin Truex Jr. earning starting position No. 2.
* The highest 15 finishers in each Duel race - excluding the already locked-in front row - will earn spots in the Daytona 500, filling positions 3-32.
* Based on their finishing position in the first Duel race, the top 15 line up on the inside row (odd-number starting positions).
* Based on their finishing position in the second Duel race, the top 15 will line up on the outside row (even-number starting positions).
*Positions 33-36 go to the four fastest cars from qualifying that have not already earned a spot.
* Positions 37-42 are provisional positions and go to the highest six cars in 2013 owner points that have not already qualified via the Duel or Coors Light Pole qualifying.
* The 43rd starting position will be assigned to any car owner who has the most recent eligible past Sprint Cup champion who did not make the field by any other method, providing the driver competed in the 2013 Sprint Cup season. If the 43rd spot remains unused it will be assigned to the next highest car in 2013 owner points not already locked into the field.(2-20-2014)

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Budweiser Duel Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway have been made. To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(2-19-2014)

Wednesday first practice: for the Budweiser Duels / Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway is over, after about 30 minutes or so, two wrecks and a red flag, the top five, slowest and notes:
#47-Allmendinger 199.574
#55-Vickers 199.327 (wrecked)
#22-Logano 198.456 (wrecked)
#21-Bayne 198.308
#66-Waltrip 198.308
slowest: #34-Ragan 188.505 & #24-Gordon 189.203
34 of 49 cars have practiced.
no speeds for: #'s 95 87 3 98 88 40 51 33 48 31 17 36 52 32
notes: early in the practice, #26-Whitt had a tire go down and slapped the wall, #55-Vickers went down to avoid the 26 and got into #13-Mears. #55 then spun and nosed into the wall. #55 will go to a backup.
30 minutes into practice, #20-Kenseth was in the middle, moved down then back up, contacting #22-Logano, which turned sideways, collecting #30-Kligerman, #77-Blaney, #83-Truex, #21-Bayne and #27-Menard. All but the #20 & #21 are pretty damaged and looks like they will go to backups. Swan Racing has had two big wrecks in this practice session. #30-Klingerman ended up on his roof, upside down. All drivers are ok. The wreck damaged the fence on the front stretch, taking down some of the fencing, but the cables all held strong. #77-Blaney, currently does have a backup car, unless owner Randy Humphrey comes up with a backup, Blaney may not race the Budweiser Duel. The rest of the practice was cancelled to allow track workers to fix the front stretch fence. The 2nd practice is scheduled for 6:30pm/et and run 90 minutes.
See the speeds on the Daytona Practice 3 speeds page.(2-19-2014)

Practice Crash pierces hole in Daytona fence: A seven-car accident in Sprint Cup practice pierced a hole in the grandstand fence at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday. During Wednesday's first practice session, #20-Matt Kenseth appeared to spark a wreck that sent Parker Kligerman's #30 Toyota on top of Paul Menard's #27 Chevy and then along the SAFER barrier, where it tore a hole in the fence that forced the cancellation of the rest of the practice. A Daytona spokesman said the fence "performed the way it was designed to," but one steel cable and some mesh fencing would be replaced. The track has received no reports of injuries. Joey Logano blamed Kenseth for drifting up the track into the nose of his #22 Ford on Wednesday as he tried to exploit a gap. "Maybe I shouldn't have been racing as hard as I was there in practice, but everybody was in a big pack there trying to make things happen," Logano said. "As soon as he came back up I checked up a little bit and then the [Trevor Bayne] hit me from behind and we spun out. It happens. That's Daytona for you." Kenseth said Logano got too close and moved him and was spun once he corrected the car. Kligerman blamed Logano for being overly aggressive. "It's a shame. He's supposed to be a veteran," said Kligerman, a rookie. "You go up to the Sprint Cup Series and it's supposed to be the best of the best. You've got a guy in practice who's racing people like it's the end of the Daytona 500. Meanwhile, I came out of truck practice, and we were running 3 or 4 wide no problem. I don't quite understand that one. I'll have to talk him about that. I'm pretty upset about how that all went down."(ESPN), also involved in the wreck were #77-Dave Blaney and #83-Ryan Truex. The teams of #22-Logano, #27-Menard, #30-Klingerman and #83-Truex pulled out backup cars for the Budweiser Duel 150 qualifying races. #77-Blaney's team didn't have a backup car and no idea if the team will be able to fix the car or secure a care from another team to run the Budweiser Duel.AND Four laps into the afternoon practice session, Cole Whitt scraped the outside wall after a piece of debris punctured the nose of his #26 Swan Racing Toyota. In an attempt to avoid Whitt's car, #55-Brian Vickers collected #13-Casey Mears' Chevrolet and shot nose-first into the outside wall. The impact sent parts and pieces flying, and one of the square cowl flaps from Vickers' Camry lodged edge-first into the nose and hood of Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevy. From the first wreck, Vickers went to a backup, but the teams of Whitt and Mears opted to repair their cars. Swan Racing teammates Whitt and Kligerman had but one backup car between them (NASCAR Wire Service).(2-20-2014)

Dillon wins Daytona 500 pole: #3-Austin Dillon won the pole for the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway with a speed of 196.019mph. Dillon is the fifth rookie driver to win the Daytona 500 pole [Danica Patrick, Jimmie Johnson, Mike Skinner and Loy Allen] and the 4th driver to win the Daytona 500 pole running the #3 car [Buddy Baker-1969, Ricky Rudd-1983 and Dale Earnhardt-1996]. #78-Martin Truex Jr won the outside pole and will start 2nd next Sunday.QUALIFYING RESULTS (odd qualifiers start in 1st Duel, even qualifiers in 2nd Duel)

Daytona 500 Qualifying Fast Facts:
#3-Austin Dillon won the Coors Light Pole Award for the The 56th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona with a lap of 45.914 seconds, 196.019 mph.
This is his first pole in 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2014.
This is his first pole in two races at Daytona International Speedway.
#78-Martin Truex. Jr. (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2014 and his sixth in 18 races at Daytona International Speedway. This is the second time Truex has sat on the front row of the Daytona 500. He won the pole in 2009.
#16-Greg Biffle (third) posted his ninth top-10 start at Daytona International Speedway.
#3-Austin Dillon (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
Four times the #3 car has sat on the Daytona 500 Coors Light pole: Buddy Baker (1969), Ricky Rudd (1983), Dale Earnhardt (1996) and Austin Dillon (2014).
(NASCAR Statistics)(2-16-2014)

Duel wins doesn't equal 500 win: Only nine times has the winner of a 125 / 150-mile race gone on to win the Daytona 500:
Fireball Roberts was the first to do so, in 1962
Cale Yarborough did it twice, in 1977 and 1984others:
Bill Elliott (1985)
Bobby Allison (1988)
Sterling Marlin (1995)
Dale Earnhardt (1998)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004)
Matt Kenseth (2012)

Starting Line Up by Row
Daytona International Speedway
Budweiser Duel #1
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Provided by NASCAR Statistics

Pos

Car#

Driver

Manu / Sponsor

Reason

1

3

Austin Dillon #

Chevy

pole winner

2

16

Greg Biffle

Ford

3rd in qualifying

3

31

Ryan Newman

Chevy

5th in qualifying

4

88

Dale Earnhardt. Jr.

Chevy

7th in qualifying

5

17

Ricky Stenhouse. Jr.

Ford

9th in qualifying

6

9

Marcos Ambrose

Ford

11th in qualifying

7

43

Aric Almirola

Ford

13th in qualifying

8

22(B)

Joey Logano

Ford

15th in qualifying

9

20

Matt Kenseth(PC5)

Toyota

17th in qualifying

10

5

Kasey Kahne

Chevy

19th in qualifying

11

18

Kyle Busch

Toyota

21st in qualifying

12

4

Kevin Harvick

Chevy

23rd in qualifying

13

10(E)

Danica Patrick

Chevy

25th in qualifying

14

47

AJ Allmendinger

Chevy

27th in qualifying

15

36

Reed Sorenson

Chevy

29th in qualifying

16

38

David Gilliland

Ford

31st in qualifying

17

30(B)

Parker Kligerman #

Toyota

33rd in qualifying

18

14(E)

Tony Stewart(PC3)

Chevy

35th in qualifying

19

55(B)

Brian Vickers

Toyota

37th in qualifying

20

26

Cole Whitt #

Toyota

39th in qualifying

21

95

Michael McDowell

Ford

41st in qualifying

22

98

Josh Wise

Ford

43rd in qualifying

23

87

Joe Nemechek(i)

Toyota

45th in qualifying

24

23

Alex Bowman #

Toyota

47th in qualifying

25

77

Dave Blaney

Ford

49th in qualifying(WITHDREW)

Daytona 500 Pole winner starts on the pole for the 1st Budweiser Duel, then those cars earning odd-numbered positions from qualifying will be assigned in order of fastest to slowest for the first Duel race.

(B) - drops to rear before start, in a backup car

(E) - drops to rear before start, engine change

GREEN = are locked in the Daytona 500 field, either by winning the pole, outside pole, four by speed, six by owners points/provisionals and one past champion provisional if needed

MAROON = but has a Champions Provisional Available. Eight of the 49 drivers are past series champion and will have the provisional available to them.

PC1 = is the first past champ eligible, PC2 is the 2nd...and so on if more

Ties are broken as follows:
1) Owners Points
2) Best finishes, most wins, 2nds, 3rds and so on until the tie is broken
3) If tie still remains, then the team with the highest position first breaks the tie
(so if two are ties, both have a win, then the team who won first gets the spot)

Starting Line Up by Row
Daytona International Speedway
Budweiser Duel #2
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Provided by NASCAR Statistics

Pos

Car#

Driver

Manu / Sponsor

Reason

1

78

Martin Truex. Jr.

Chevy

outside pole

2

99

Carl Edwards

Ford

4th in qualifying

3

2

Brad Keselowski(PC2)

Ford

6th in qualifying

4

24

Jeff Gordon(PC6)

Chevy

8th in qualifying

5

27(B)

Paul Menard

Chevy

10th in qualifying

6

33

Brian Scott(i)

Chevy

12th in qualifying

7

48

Jimmie Johnson(PC1)

Chevy

14th in qualifying

8

13

Casey Mears

Chevy

16th in qualifying

9

7

Michael Annett #

Chevy

18th in qualifying

10

15

Clint Bowyer

Toyota

20th in qualifying

11

11

Denny Hamlin

Toyota

22nd in qualifying

12

42

Kyle Larson #

Chevy

24th in qualifying

13

21

Trevor Bayne(i)

Ford

26th in qualifying

14

41

Kurt Busch(PC4)

Chevy

28th in qualifying

15

51

Justin Allgaier #

Chevy

30th in qualifying

16

40

Landon Cassill

Chevy

32nd in qualifying

17

66

Michael Waltrip

Toyota

34th in qualifying

18

35

Eric McClure(i)

Ford

36th in qualifying

19

1

Jamie McMurray

Chevy

38th in qualifying

20

34

David Ragan

Ford

40th in qualifying

21

32

Terry Labonte(PC8)

Ford

42nd in qualifying

22

52(E)

Bobby Labonte(PC7)

Chevy

44th in qualifying

23

83(B)

Ryan Truex #

Toyota

46th in qualifying

24

93

Morgan Shepherd(i)

Toyota

48th in qualifying

Daytona 500 Outside Pole sitter (2nd) starts on the pole for the 2nd Budweiser Duel, then those cars earning even-numbered positions from qualifying will be assigned in order of fastest to slowest for the second Duel race.

(B) - drops to rear before start, in a backup car

(E) - drops to rear before start, engine change

GREEN = are locked in the Daytona 500 field, either by winning the pole, outside pole, four by speed, six by owners points/provisionals and one past champion provisional if needed

MAROON = but has a Champions Provisional Available. Eight of the 45 drivers are past series champion and will have the provisional available to them.

PC1 = is the first past champ eligible, PC2 is the 2nd...and so on if more

Ties are broken as follows:
1) Owners Points
2) Best finishes, most wins, 2nds, 3rds and so on until the tie is broken
3) If tie still remains, then the team with the highest position first breaks the tie
(so if two are ties, both have a win, then the team who won first gets the spot)

Ties are broken as follows:
1) Owners Points
2) Best finishes, most wins, 2nds, 3rds and so on until the tie is broken
3) If tie still remains, then the team with the highest position first breaks the tie
(so if two are ties, both have a win, then the team who won first gets the spot)

Qualifying Procedure for the Gatorade Duels/Daytona 500:

Qualifying sets only Daytona 500 front row: Sunday's Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole qualifying is unique in that only the top two positions will be guaranteed. Remaining qualifiers are seeded by qualifying speed into Thursday's Budweiser Duel, two 150-mile races from which the majority of the final starting grid for the Daytona 500 is set. The front-row qualifiers and the highest 15 finishers in each Duel - excluding the front row from qualifying - will earn a spot in the Daytona 500. The next four fastest Coors Light Pole qualifiers will make up positions 33-36. Six provisional starting positions (37 through 42) will be awarded to the highest eligible car owners in final 2012 standings not otherwise qualified for the race. The 43rd position will be filled by the most recent past champion participating in a 2012 event. Should no past champion be eligible, the final position goes to the next highest owner in 2012 points. The most recent Daytona 500 pole winner to win the race was Dale Jarrett in 2000, one of two drivers (Bill Elliott is the other) to sweep The Sprint Unlimited, pole and race in the same season.(NASCAR)(2-17-2013)

How To Qualify For The Daytona 500: Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is unlike any other auto racing qualifying procedure. Drivers have multiple opportunities to qualify for the season-opening race, as opposed to the usual format of one qualifying session per event. The first chance comes via Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole Qualifying. The other chance is the Duel at Daytona, two 150-mile qualifying races held on the Thursday before the Daytona 500. Below is a breakdown of the Daytona 500 qualifying procedure:Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole Qualifying
" Each team may run two consecutive laps with the fast lap setting the qualifying time. The two fastest qualifiers earn starting positions one and two and are the only guaranteed positions, filling the front row for the Daytona 500 and pole positions for the two qualifying races.
" The Duel at Daytona, two 150-mile qualifying races, will determine starting positions for the Daytona 500 beyond the front row. In the event of cancellation, the field will be set according to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book.Duel at Daytona
" Those cars earning odd-numbered positions from qualifying will be assigned to the first Duel race. Those cars earning even-numbered positions from qualifying will compete in the second race.
" The starting positions for each Duel race will also be based on qualifying times.Daytona 500 Lineup
" The two fastest qualifiers set starting positions one and two.
" The highest 15 finishers in each Duel race - excluding the already locked-in front row - will earn a spot in the Daytona 500, and fill positions 3-32.
" Based on their finishing position in the first Duel race, the top 15 will line up on the inside row (odd-number starting positions).
" Based on their finishing position in the second Duel race, the top 15 will line up on the outside row (even-number starting positions).
" Positions 33-36 will go to the four fastest cars from qualifying that have not already earned a spot.
" Position 37-42 will be provisional positions, and go to the highest six cars in the previous season owner points that have not already qualified via the Duel or Coors Light Pole qualifying.
" The 43rd starting position will be assigned to any car owner who has the most recent eligible past NASCAR Sprint Cup champion who did not make the field by any other method, providing the driver competed in the previous NASCAR Sprint Cup season. If the 43rd position remains unused it will be assigned to the next highest car in previous season owner points not already locked into the field.